skip to main content
OSTI.GOV title logo U.S. Department of Energy
Office of Scientific and Technical Information

Title: New CRISPR–Cas systems from uncultivated microbes

Journal Article · · Nature (London)
DOI:https://doi.org/10.1038/nature21059· OSTI ID:1379729
 [1];  [2];  [2];  [1];  [1];  [1];  [3];  [4]
  1. Univ. of California, Berkeley, CA (United States). Department of Earth and Planetary Sciences
  2. Univ. of California, Berkeley, CA (United States). Department of Molecular and Cell Biology
  3. Univ. of California, Berkeley, CA (United States). Department of Molecular and Cell Biology, Howard Hughes Medical Institute, Innovative Genomics Initiative, and MBIB Division
  4. Univ. of California, Berkeley, CA (United States). Department of Earth and Planetary Sciences and Department of Environmental Science, Policy, and Management

We present that CRISPR-Cas systems provide microbes with adaptive immunity by employing short DNA sequences, termed spacers, that guide Cas proteins to cleave foreign DNA. Class 2 CRISPR-Cas systems are streamlined versions, in which a single RNA-bound Cas protein recognizes and cleaves target sequences. The programmable nature of these minimal systems has enabled researchers to repurpose them into a versatile technology that is broadly revolutionizing biological and clinical research. However, current CRISPR-Cas technologies are based solely on systems from isolated bacteria, leaving the vast majority of enzymes from organisms that have not been cultured untapped. Metagenomics, the sequencing of DNA extracted directly from natural microbial communities, provides access to the genetic material of a huge array of uncultivated organisms. Here, using genome-resolved metagenomics, we identify a number of CRISPR-Cas systems, including the first reported Cas9 in the archaeal domain of life, to our knowledge. This divergent Cas9 protein was found in little-studied nanoarchaea as part of an active CRISPR-Cas system. In bacteria, we discovered two previously unknown systems, CRISPR-CasX and CRISPR-CasY, which are among the most compact systems yet discovered. Notably, all required functional components were identified by metagenomics, enabling validation of robust in vivo RNA-guided DNA interference activity in Escherichia coli. Lastly, interrogation of environmental microbial communities combined with in vivo experiments allows us to access an unprecedented diversity of genomes, the content of which will expand the repertoire of microbe-based biotechnologies.

Research Organization:
Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (LBNL), Berkeley, CA (United States)
Sponsoring Organization:
USDOE Office of Science (SC)
Grant/Contract Number:
AC02-05CH11231
OSTI ID:
1379729
Journal Information:
Nature (London), Vol. 542, Issue 7640; ISSN 0028-0836
Publisher:
Nature Publishing GroupCopyright Statement
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English
Citation Metrics:
Cited by: 335 works
Citation information provided by
Web of Science

References (74)

Processing-Independent CRISPR RNAs Limit Natural Transformation in Neisseria meningitidis journal May 2013
An updated evolutionary classification of CRISPR–Cas systems journal September 2015
Structures of Cas9 Endonucleases Reveal RNA-Mediated Conformational Activation journal February 2014
Versatile and open software for comparing large genomes journal January 2004
Lineages of Acidophilic Archaea Revealed by Community Genomic Analysis journal December 2006
DNase H Activity of Neisseria meningitidis Cas9 journal October 2015
Major bacterial lineages are essentially devoid of CRISPR-Cas viral defence systems journal February 2016
CRISPRFinder: a web tool to identify clustered regularly interspaced short palindromic repeats journal May 2007
Profiling of engineering hotspots identifies an allosteric CRISPR-Cas9 switch journal May 2016
Genomic resolution of a cold subsurface aquifer community provides metabolic insights for novel microbes adapted to high CO 2 concentrations : Genomic resolution of a high-CO journal July 2016
Community-wide analysis of microbial genome sequence signatures journal January 2009
The Phyre2 web portal for protein modeling, prediction and analysis journal May 2015
Mfold web server for nucleic acid folding and hybridization prediction journal July 2003
Protospacer recognition motifs: Mixed identities and functional diversity journal February 2013
EMIRGE: reconstruction of full-length ribosomal genes from microbial community short read sequencing data journal May 2011
Classification and evolution of type II CRISPR-Cas systems journal April 2014
CD-HIT: accelerated for clustering the next-generation sequencing data journal October 2012
CRISPR Provides Acquired Resistance Against Viruses in Prokaryotes journal March 2007
JPred4: a protein secondary structure prediction server journal April 2015
CRISPR — a widespread system that provides acquired resistance against phages in bacteria and archaea journal March 2008
Structural basis of PAM-dependent target DNA recognition by the Cas9 endonuclease journal July 2014
Prodigal: prokaryotic gene recognition and translation initiation site identification journal March 2010
CRISPR adaptation biases explain preference for acquisition of foreign DNA journal April 2015
C2c2 is a single-component programmable RNA-guided RNA-targeting CRISPR effector journal June 2016
MaxBin 2.0: an automated binning algorithm to recover genomes from multiple metagenomic datasets journal October 2015
Self-targeting by CRISPR: gene regulation or autoimmunity? journal August 2010
Discovery and Functional Characterization of Diverse Class 2 CRISPR-Cas Systems journal November 2015
Applications of CRISPR technologies in research and beyond journal September 2016
Orthogonal Cas9 proteins for RNA-guided gene regulation and editing journal September 2013
MAFFT Multiple Sequence Alignment Software Version 7: Improvements in Performance and Usability journal January 2013
Enzymatic assembly of DNA molecules up to several hundred kilobases journal April 2009
WebLogo: A Sequence Logo Generator journal May 2004
CRISPR RNA maturation by trans-encoded small RNA and host factor RNase III journal March 2011
Small Genomes and Sparse Metabolisms of Sediment-Associated Bacteria from Four Candidate Phyla journal October 2013
Cpf1 Is a Single RNA-Guided Endonuclease of a Class 2 CRISPR-Cas System journal October 2015
Interactive tree of life (iTOL) v3: an online tool for the display and annotation of phylogenetic and other trees journal April 2016
RAxML version 8: a tool for phylogenetic analysis and post-analysis of large phylogenies journal January 2014
IDBA-UD: a de novo assembler for single-cell and metagenomic sequencing data with highly uneven depth journal April 2012
Comparative genomics in acid mine drainage biofilm communities reveals metabolic and structural differentiation of co-occurring archaea journal January 2013
Metagenomic analysis of a high carbon dioxide subsurface microbial community populated by chemolithoautotrophs and bacteria and archaea from candidate phyla: High CO journal April 2015
Cas1–Cas2 complex formation mediates spacer acquisition during CRISPR–Cas adaptive immunity journal May 2014
Integrase-mediated spacer acquisition during CRISPR–Cas adaptive immunity journal February 2015
A Programmable Dual-RNA-Guided DNA Endonuclease in Adaptive Bacterial Immunity journal June 2012
Unusual biology across a group comprising more than 15% of domain Bacteria journal June 2015
The crystal structure of Cpf1 in complex with CRISPR RNA journal April 2016
The Repetitive DNA Elements Called CRISPRs and Their Associated Genes: Evidence of Horizontal Transfer Among Prokaryotes journal April 2006
Fast gapped-read alignment with Bowtie 2 journal March 2012
Genomes from Metagenomics journal November 2013
A new view of the tree of life journal April 2016
BLAST+: architecture and applications journal January 2009
Mechanism of substrate selection by a highly specific CRISPR endoribonuclease journal February 2012
Diverse uncultivated ultra-small bacterial cells in groundwater journal February 2015
In Situ Evolutionary Rate Measurements Show Ecological Success of Recently Emerged Bacterial Hybrids journal April 2012
HHblits: lightning-fast iterative protein sequence searching by HMM-HMM alignment journal December 2011
Crystal Structure of Cpf1 in Complex with Guide RNA and Target DNA journal May 2016
A Distinct Small RNA Pathway Silences Selfish Genetic Elements in the Germline journal July 2006
Proteins and DNA elements essential for the CRISPR adaptation process in Escherichia coli journal February 2012
An efficient algorithm for large-scale detection of protein families journal April 2002
HMMER web server: interactive sequence similarity searching journal May 2011
Thousands of microbial genomes shed light on interconnected biogeochemical processes in an aquifer system journal October 2016
Insights into the phylogeny and coding potential of microbial dark matter journal July 2013
UniProt: a hub for protein information journal October 2014
Crass: identification and reconstruction of CRISPR from unassembled metagenomic data journal March 2013
The reduced genomes of Parcubacteria (OD1) contain signatures of a symbiotic lifestyle journal July 2015
Enigmatic, ultrasmall, uncultivated Archaea journal April 2010
Systematic discovery of pseudomonad genetic factors involved in sensitivity to tailocins journal March 2021
Coriander Genomics Database: a genomic, transcriptomic, and metabolic database for coriander journal April 2020
Diversity of Sea Star-Associated Densoviruses and Transcribed Endogenous Viral Elements of Densovirus Origin journal December 2020
Structures of Cas9 endonucleases reveal RNA-mediated conformational activation text January 2014
Structural basis of PAM-dependent target DNA recognition by the Cas9 endonuclease text January 2014
New kid on the CRISPR block journal December 2015
Interaction between Bacteriophage DMS3 and Host CRISPR Region Inhibits Group Behaviors of Pseudomonas aeruginosa journal October 2008
Inter-species interconnections in acid mine drainage microbial communities journal July 2014
RAxML version 8: a tool for phylogenetic analysis and post-analysis of large phylogenies text January 2014

Cited By (95)

CasLocusAnno: a web‐based server for annotating cas loci and their corresponding (sub)types journal July 2019
Cas9 versus Cas12a/Cpf1: Structure-function comparisons and implications for genome editing journal May 2018
A Case for the Evolution from Commensalism to Pathogenicity and Possibly Back Again: Lessons Learned from the Human-Adapted Neisseria Species book January 2018
A history of genome editing in mammals journal June 2017
Next Generation Precision Medicine: CRISPR-mediated Genome Editing for the Treatment of Neurodegenerative Disorders journal April 2019
Genome editing in grass plants journal September 2019
Development of CRISPR-Cas systems for genome editing and beyond journal January 2019
The enigmatic archaeal virosphere journal November 2017
A thermostable Cas9 with increased lifetime in human plasma journal November 2017
Engineer chimeric Cas9 to expand PAM recognition based on evolutionary information journal February 2019
Pervasive acquisition of CRISPR memory driven by inter-species mating of archaea can limit gene transfer and influence speciation journal November 2018
Biosynthetic capacity, metabolic variety and unusual biology in the CPR and DPANN radiations journal September 2018
Evolutionary classification of CRISPR–Cas systems: a burst of class 2 and derived variants journal December 2019
CasX enzymes comprise a distinct family of RNA-guided genome editors journal February 2019
The arms race between bacteria and their phage foes journal January 2020
Increasing the specificity of CRISPR systems with engineered RNA secondary structures journal April 2019
The evolving interface between synthetic biology and functional metagenomics journal July 2018
Deep mutational scanning of S. pyogenes Cas9 reveals important functional domains journal December 2017
Characterizing the activity of abundant, diverse and active CRISPR-Cas systems in lactobacilli journal August 2018
Recruitment of CRISPR-Cas systems by Tn7-like transposons journal August 2017
Real-time observation of DNA target interrogation and product release by the RNA-guided endonuclease CRISPR Cpf1 (Cas12a) journal May 2018
Prediction and diversity of tracrRNAs from type II CRISPR-Cas systems journal June 2018
Genomic diversity, lifestyles and evolutionary origins of DPANN archaea journal January 2019
Distinct evolutionary dynamics of horizontal gene transfer in drug resistant and virulent clones of Klebsiella pneumoniae journal September 2018
Prokaryotic and viral community of the sulfate‐rich crust from Peñahueca ephemeral lake, an astrobiology analogue journal June 2019
Interkingdom microbial consortia mechanisms to guide biotechnological applications journal July 2018
A revolutionary tool: CRISPR technology plays an important role in construction of intelligentized gene circuits journal November 2018
The rapidly advancing Class 2 CRISPR‐Cas technologies: A customizable toolbox for molecular manipulations journal March 2020
New variants of CRISPR RNA-guided genome editing enzymes journal May 2017
The CRISPR/Cas revolution reaches the RNA world: Cas13, a new Swiss Army knife for plant biologists journal May 2018
Clinical applications of CRISPR-based genome editing and diagnostics: CLINICAL APPLICATIONS OF CRISPR ENZYMES journal January 2019
In vivo genome editing improves motor function and extends survival in a mouse model of ALS journal December 2017
Systematic discovery of natural CRISPR-Cas12a inhibitors journal September 2018
Programmed DNA destruction by miniature CRISPR-Cas14 enzymes journal October 2018
History of CRISPR-Cas from Encounter with a Mysterious Repeated Sequence to Genome Editing Technology journal January 2018
Protein Engineering Strategies to Expand CRISPR-Cas9 Applications journal August 2018
CRISPR/Cas9 System: A Bacterial Tailor for Genomic Engineering journal September 2018
Insights Obtained by Culturing Saccharibacteria With Their Bacterial Hosts journal February 2020
Prediction of activity and specificity of CRISPR-Cpf1 using convolutional deep learning neural networks journal June 2019
HH-suite3 for fast remote homology detection and deep protein annotation journal September 2019
Systematic evaluation of C. elegans lincRNAs with CRISPR knockout mutants journal January 2019
CRISPR-like sequences in Helicobacter pylori and application in genotyping journal November 2017
Gene editing in dermatology: Harnessing CRISPR for the treatment of cutaneous disease journal January 2020
Distinct evolutionary dynamics of horizontal gene transfer in drug resistant and virulent clones of Klebsiella pneumoniae journal April 2019
CRISPR-Cas Systems Features and the Gene-Reservoir Role of Coagulase-Negative Staphylococci journal August 2017
Schizosaccharomyces pombe Can Reduce Acetic Acid Produced by Baijiu Spontaneous Fermentation Microbiota journal November 2019
Casposase structure and the mechanistic link between DNA transposition and spacer acquisition by CRISPR-Cas journal January 2020
Characterization of Cas proteins for CRISPR‐Cas editing in streptomycetes journal May 2019
CRISPR/Cas9: Nature's gift to prokaryotes and an auspicious tool in genome editing journal November 2019
Developmental progress of CRISPR/Cas9 and its therapeutic applications for HIV-1 infection journal July 2018
A load driver device for engineering modularity in biological networks journal November 2014
Diversity and evolution of class 2 CRISPR–Cas systems journal January 2017
The emerging and uncultivated potential of CRISPR technology in plant science journal July 2019
Immune-orthogonal orthologues of AAV capsids and of Cas9 circumvent the immune response to the administration of gene therapy journal July 2019
The next generation of CRISPR–Cas technologies and applications journal May 2019
Clades of huge phages from across Earth’s ecosystems journal February 2020
Broad-spectrum enzymatic inhibition of CRISPR-Cas12a journal April 2019
Comparative genomics and evolution of trans-activating RNAs in Class 2 CRISPR-Cas systems journal June 2018
PAM identification by CRISPR-Cas effector complexes: diversified mechanisms and structures journal September 2018
A new statistic for efficient detection of repetitive sequences journal April 2019
Multiplex genome editing of microorganisms using CRISPR-Cas journal April 2019
Microbial Dark Matter Investigations: How Microbial Studies Transform Biological Knowledge and Empirically Sketch a Logic of Scientific Discovery journal February 2018
Structural insights into the modulatory role of the accessory protein WYL1 in the Type VI-D CRISPR-Cas system journal April 2019
HH-suite3 for fast remote homology detection and deep protein annotation journal February 2019
Cellular Reprogramming, Genome Editing, and Alternative CRISPR Cas9 Technologies for Precise Gene Therapy of Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy journal January 2017
On the global CRISPR array behavior in class I systems journal August 2017
The CRISPR/Cas revolution reaches the RNA world: Cas13, a new Swiss Army knife for plant biologists text January 2018
Building a genome engineering toolbox in nonmodel prokaryotic microbes journal May 2018
Expanding targeting scope, editing window, and base transition capability of base editing in Corynebacterium glutamicum journal July 2019
A highly specific SpCas9 variant is identified by in vivo screening in yeast journal January 2018
A decade of discovery: CRISPR functions and applications journal June 2017
Nucleic acid cleavage with a hyperthermophilic Cas9 from an uncultured Ignavibacterium journal October 2019
A new statistic for efficient detection of repetitive sequences journal September 2018
Functionally diverse type V CRISPR-Cas systems journal December 2018
Cas9 versus Cas12a/Cpf1: Structure-function comparisons and implications for genome editing text January 2018
Characterisation of a stable laboratory co-culture of acidophilic nanoorganisms text January 2017
Gene editing in dermatology: Harnessing CRISPR for the treatment of cutaneous disease journal January 2020
CdpR Inhibits CRISPR-Cas Adaptive Immunity to Lower Anti-viral Defense while Avoiding Self-Reactivity journal March 2019
Cas13d Is a Compact RNA-Targeting Type VI CRISPR Effector Positively Modulated by a WYL-Domain-Containing Accessory Protein journal April 2018
Blossom of CRISPR technologies and applications in disease treatment journal December 2018
Characterisation of a stable laboratory co-culture of acidophilic nanoorganisms journal June 2017
CRISPRdisco: An Automated Pipeline for the Discovery and Analysis of CRISPR-Cas Systems journal April 2018
Harnessing “A Billion Years of Experimentation”: The Ongoing Exploration and Exploitation of CRISPR–Cas Immune Systems journal April 2018
EBI Metagenomics in 2017: enriching the analysis of microbial communities, from sequence reads to assemblies journal October 2017
CRISPR-Cas Genome Surgery in Ophthalmology journal May 2017
Correction to: CRISPR-like sequences in Helicobacter pylori and application in genotyping journal December 2017
Cas1 and Cas2 From the Type II-C CRISPR-Cas System of Riemerella anatipestifer Are Required for Spacer Acquisition journal June 2018
Candidate Phyla Radiation Roizmanbacteria From Hot Springs Have Novel and Unexpectedly Abundant CRISPR-Cas Systems journal May 2019
Genomic Characterization of a Novel Gut Symbiont From the Hadal Snailfish journal January 2020
Genome Editing in Trees: From Multiple Repair Pathways to Long-Term Stability journal November 2018
Seasonal Reproduction in Vertebrates: Melatonin Synthesis, Binding, and Functionality Using Tinbergen’s Four Questions journal March 2018
“French Phage Network”—Second Meeting Report journal April 2017
CRISPR Genome Engineering for Human Pluripotent Stem Cell Research journal January 2017
Allele-specific genome targeting in the development of precision medicine journal January 2020
Detection and variability analyses of CRISPR-like loci in the H. pylori genome journal September 2018